


We Both Agree It's Gonna Be

by mylittleshipgoestoot (Loyalty2WayStreet)



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Ana Flores Oversteps, Anxious Evan "Buck" Buckley, Christopher Diaz Has Two Dads, Dad Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie ain't happy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father's Day, Feelings Realization, Jealous Evan "Buck" Buckley, Light Angst, M/M, Miscommunication, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:47:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24837130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loyalty2WayStreet/pseuds/mylittleshipgoestoot
Summary: Eddie Diaz Week - Day 7:  Father's DayAna mistakes her upcoming date with Eddie as earning some kind of place in parenting his son.  She's dead wrong.
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & His Buck, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 55
Kudos: 729





	We Both Agree It's Gonna Be

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Eddie Diaz Week!!!
> 
> Title taken from lyrics in the 1967 song, ‘The Two Of Us’ by Jackie Trent & Tony Hatch.

It’s some kind of twisted torture, volunteering to watch Christopher so Eddie can go on a date. Buck’s own heart is only just holding together with some decade-old sticky tape as he watches Eddie nervously change his shirt twice and spend three times as long in the bathroom on his hair. 

“This shirt okay?” Eddie asks him, clearly stressed.

Buck swallows down his loneliness and halts construction on Chris’ Lego train station, standing up to take him all in. Eddie looks great, but he’d look better in that olive-coloured shirt, and Buck can’t be a shitty friend and not say something, even if he’d pretty much sell a kidney to be in Ana’s shoes tonight. Buck has his back, in every situation, even in this one where he’s only just keeping the green-eyed monster at bay.

“The olive shirt brings out your eyes, plus you wore that one,” Buck remarks, tapping him lightly on the chest, “on your first date.”

Eddie’s eyes widen, “Jesus, you’re right.”

Eddie disappears to throw the suggested shirt on, which Buck honestly thinks could do with an iron, but Eddie is already running late. Eddie tilts Christopher’s head up and kisses him playfully on the nose, then pecks Buck on the cheek on his way toward the door.

“Night, my boys,” Eddie says grinning, and then he’s gone, leaving Buck staring at the door, touching his cheek, wondering how much more of this his heart can take.

Buck drops back to the floor, aiming to throw himself full force into building the ‘Arc De Triomphe’ of clock towers onto the train station, as a distraction from his woes. He’s only added a few bricks when he notices Christopher has started pulling at the skin around his fingernails, and his enthusiasm for the train station has decreased significantly.

“What’s up, buddy? You feel a bit tired?” Christopher takes a long minute to think about that before he shrugs without making eye contact.

“How about an extra-long book?” If Christopher brightens at that suggestion, it’s hardly noticeable, and that’s very unlike Christopher, he loves Buck reading to him; his extensive vocal repertoire ranges from Daffy Duck to Queen Elsa.

Christopher heads for the bathroom as Buck hovers like a mother hen, increasingly worried at how Christopher is managing the ‘say cheese’ component of tooth brushing with such a frown on his face. The book doesn’t go much better, but Buck tries his darnedest to be upbeat, worried that maybe his mood about Eddie going on yet another date with Ana had somehow rubbed off on the kid. Still, even with the extra effort, Christopher seems to be a million miles away.

“Buddy,” Buck starts, placing the book back on its shelf, “You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you, right?”

Christopher sighs and Buck thinks it’s a sigh far too heavy for someone his age. Christopher’s little face is a confused frown, and when he looks up into Buck’s eyes, he looks crestfallen. “I got mad earlier today, and I’m mad again now, and I don’t like being mad, Buck.”

Buck snuggles back down into his spot next to Christopher and wraps an arm around his shoulders. Christopher is still frowning, and Buck can’t help but see Eddie in that little frown, the one that scrunches his eyebrows when he doesn’t understand his emotions.

“Do you want to tell me why you feel mad?”

Christopher peers up at him looking uncertain. “I want to, but I don’t want to get into trouble.”

Buck holds back a laugh at that, but only because Chris still looks so serious. Sensible kid, he thinks to himself, not wanting to drop himself in it.

“Buddy, I promise I’ll listen, and I won’t get mad. I’m a firefighter, remember? I keep my cool at all times.” Buck squeezes his shoulders gently, reassuring Christopher.

Christopher relaxes, curling into him. He speaks in a low whisper like that somehow will make him less likely to get in trouble. “I don’t like Ms Flores; she said something bad about you.”

Buck gets mad and for a split-second a ‘what?’ is on the tip of his tongue before he reels it back in and does what he said he’d do, listens. He tilts his head and gives Christopher what he hopes is a small smile of encouragement.

“We were writing Father’s Day poems, and I wanted to write one for you, but she said you weren’t my Dad.”

Christopher’s eyes are glossy, and when he looks up at Buck, he just looks so disappointed. Buck forces himself to close his mouth and relax the fingernails that are digging into his fist. _What goddamn right does she have?_ he thinks. It takes a massive effort to focus on clamping down on his own emotions and focus on Christopher’s because he is furious with Ana. You don’t politely remind a sweet kid with a heart as big as Christopher’s that he only has one dad. He hauls Christopher into his lap, enveloping him in his arms.

“Hey,” Buck whispers against his hair, “it’s okay to be mad, buddy, but I don’t think Ms Flores was trying to be mean to me on purpose.”

Christopher bristles at that, smooshing his cute little nose right against Buck’s, and states matter-of-factly, “I don’t like her, I told her that.”

 _‘Shit’_ Buck thinks, kind of worried about how Eddie’s date might be going. Because he knows if Christopher doesn’t like her, and Eddie finds out, that’s the end of #Andie. No wonder Christopher is feeling mad, and upset, watching his dad go off happily into the night with his teacher. Of all the things that Eddie needs to worry about right now, he can only help with one, and Christopher’s dad or not, he’s got this. Buck takes that small trusting little face in his hands and kisses him on the nose, mirroring his father earlier.

“Buddy, technically she’s right; I’m not your dad. I love you more than you could ever imagine, though,” he sniffles bumping their foreheads together, “and I think of you as my kid, so if you want to think of me as your dad, that will make me the happiest Buck in the world, okay?”

Christopher smiles with his whole face. “I love you too, Buck.”

“God, I love you so much, Chris.” Yeah, those are tears on his cheeks. He probably should release his grip on the kid now. This hug is perhaps more so for himself than anything else.

“Buck?” Christopher’s muffled voice asks against his shoulder, “Do you think daddy really likes her?”

Buck doesn’t know. He wishes he knew, then again, maybe it’s easier not knowing. Eddie had been keeping things relatively close to his chest. The only thing Buck knew was Eddie wanted to take it slowly, and so far the intimacy had only extended to holding hands. He’s momentarily transported back to the peck on the cheek he’d received earlier in the night, and he can feel the ghost of it still on his skin.

“I honestly don’t know, buddy. No matter what, though, you’ll always have me.”

Christopher pushes his way out of Buck’s arms just enough to give him an exploding fist bump. They chuckle together, and something inside Buck warms with the knowledge that he means every word he’s said. He’s never going to break a promise to Christopher; he’ll always be there if he needs him. 

He knows he shouldn’t indulge Christopher too much, but circumstances being what they are, Buck stays, running his fingers through Chris’ loose curls until he drifts off to sleep.

Buck tries to settle in and watch a movie, but it’s an exercise in futility. His mind keeps drifting to Eddie, wondering how they are going to guide Christopher through this, not to mention Eddie’s date and how that’s going. Needing something to do to keep himself from overthinking everything (Yes, he knows it was only a kiss on the cheek, but that means something to him.) he starts folding a load of laundry with far more aggression than required.

Fifteen minutes later he hears Eddie’s truck pull into the driveway, a minute later the front door opens, and Eddie slams it behind him.

“Shhhhh,” Buck scolds, following him into the kitchen.

Eddie looks sheepish for a second, “Sorry, rough night,” he grumbles, pulling two beers from the fridge, lips pressed in a tight line.

“I figured that, seeing as though you were only gone an hour.” 

Buck follows him back to the couch, removing the three piles of clothes so he can sit down next to Eddie. He takes a sip of the beer Eddie hands him, and watches as Eddie drinks his down in record time, then makes grabby hands for his unfinished one.

“Uh, so, do you want to talk about it?” Buck hands over the beer and raises his eyebrows, half in question, and half in amusement at the thunderous look on Eddie’s face. Eddie takes a minute and two more swigs of beer before he answers.

“Ana overstepped; I lost my temper; it was a disaster.”

The way Eddie explains it would, in most situations, ward off any further questions or explanations. Buck knows him better than that, though, so even if his words are saying ‘leave it’ his eyes are searching Buck’s like he’s dying to get it all off his chest. And they both know Eddie’s stubborn at the best of times, so Buck allows him this and makes it seem like he must know.

“Come on, Eddie, you can’t leave me hanging, what happened?”

Eddie grimaces and Buck figures from the intel he already has from Christopher, plus Eddie’s admission that he lost his temper, he’s probably worrying about whether he was too harsh. He’s still working on the hot-headed side of himself, and Buck gets it; it’s the same as his reckless streak.

Eddie lets a harsh breath out through his nose, “We were driving to the restaurant, and everything was fine, then all of a sudden she was telling me that Christopher had told her earlier today that he didn’t like her.”

Eddie stares at Buck, eyes wild and disbelieving, shaking his head. “Christopher doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, so I couldn’t understand why he would say that, so I pulled the car over and asked her what happened.”

Buck knows obviously, and he wants to say something, he really does, but he’s curious how Eddie feels about his son thinking of Buck as a Dad, so he just nods his agreement.

Eddie laughs, slightly hysterically. “Turns out, all Christopher wanted to do was write you a Father’s Day poem, and she decided to tell the poor kid that you aren’t his dad.” Eddie tries to take a calming breath, but instead bursts, “As if that’s any of her fucking business!”

Eddie, as a rule, doesn’t curse, but right now steam is coming out his ears, and his whole face is tinted an angry, blotchy red; and he’s reminding Buck of that documentary he saw last week on the Chernobyl explosion. Eddie grabs a balled-up pair of socks from the coffee table and pelts them at the wall.

“Better?” Buck asks, and Eddie raises his eyebrows at him, picking up another pair and pretending to aim at Buck.

Buck gets it; this is restrained aggression. If Buck were in his situation, he’d probably at the very least want to hurl a pair of innocent socks at a wall too. The conversation that Ana took into her own hands, that was 100 per cent not her jurisdiction. Eddie is Christopher’s parent. Hell, Buck always consults Eddie; whether it’s a look between them, a nod of confirmation or they talk it out.

“Eddie,” he soothes, palm squeezing Eddie’s thigh trying to calm him.

“Sorry,” Eddie apologises, “I just can’t believe it, you know? Carla said Christopher was quiet today too, and I didn’t even think to ask him about it. I should have seen he was upset.”

Eddie sounds mournful, frowning just like Christopher was earlier and Buck fights the urge to pull Eddie against him in the same way, settling instead on placing an arm around his shoulders.

“Eddie,” Buck starts tentatively, “I didn’t catch it either. It was only after you’d left that I noticed he was upset.”

Buck’s not sure if that’s the right thing to say or not, Eddie can be hard on himself when it comes to Christopher. Eddie rubs his temples and apologises again, this time for leaving Buck to deal with that.

“You know I don’t mind,” Buck insists, holding eye contact with him, “he told me what happened, and we talked it out.”

The look Eddie gives him is indecipherable, and he’s shaking his head. Buck worries that maybe he’s overstepped too.

“Eddie, I swear, I didn’t say a bad word about her,” Buck appeases, and Eddie’s head jerks up, surprised.

“I know that, Buck,” Eddie says with conviction, “You’re not her. You’ve always been a great partner and helped me parent Christopher with my values, maybe a few of your own,” he teases, with a brief smirk, “but I allow that because you’ve more than earned your place in this family.”

Buck can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes him, and Eddie looks at him with a fond little smile that goes right to his eyes.

“So, what did Christopher say?”

Buck recalls their conversation for Eddie, word for word, or as close as he can remember. Eddie’s head drops into his hands sadly when Buck carefully mentions Christopher, being mad, and on the verge of tears. He’d leave that part out, but he knows better than anyone that Eddie always wants to see the good, bad and downright ugly in both Christopher and him. 

He’s surprised when Eddie pulls him into a hug, face slotting perfectly against Buck’s neck as he continues recalling the conversation.

“I told Christopher, technically she’s right; that I’m not his dad. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel that way, and if he feels that way too, I was happy to be that to him and that I’ll always love him, no matter what.”

Eddie sighs against his neck and loosens his hold just enough so he can see Buck’s face. 

“Thank you,” Eddie says, locking eyes with him. He speaks those words so genuinely Buck feels his insides somersault. “I’m so damn lucky to have you.”

Buck flushes a whole shade darker. Eddie’s hands are still on his shoulders, and it all just feels so intimate.

“And, so is Christopher,” Eddie adds, looking embarrassed that he didn’t mention him. 

Eddie moves out of his space, and Buck feels momentarily relieved by that. He changes the subject to stop himself from over analysing Eddie’s heart eyes. “So, is school drop off going to be awkward now?”

Eddie explains that shortly after their heated conversation, he’d dropped Ana back to her apartment. He’d been polite but told her that he didn’t think it was a good idea for them to keep seeing each other.

Buck nods. He doesn’t smile, even if he’s glad he doesn’t have to compete with her anymore. He just hopes now that she’s out of the picture that Eddie will see what he could have with him, in the future. Clearly, because Buck’s absently thought about that in the privacy of his brain, some kind of cosmic karma decides to fuck with him, as Eddie goes on to reveal that Ana’s parting blow was something about Christopher being confused by what he saw at home.

“What?” Okay, he’d been holding back when he was with Christopher, but seriously who does she think she is?

Eddie huffs at his outburst, looking delighted that he wasn’t the only one pissed off by that.

“Buck, she also asked me, um, if it was just Christopher who saw it that way,” Eddie reveals, the tips of his ears tinging pink.

The air between them is suddenly fraught with tension and Eddie takes a large gulp of his beer, avoiding eye contact. Buck feels his heart pounding into his mouth, and he hopes to God that his emotionally constipated best friend does not want to talk about this, now. Ideally, this is a conversation that would come up in a year or so, when they are both ready for it. Now, though, Buck thinks, so soon after Ana. The timing’s off, and that could change everything.

“I, um..”

Buck almost can’t believe that Eddie’s speaking, or that his voice is wobbling slightly with nerves, all he can focus on is that once they start this conversation, there is no going back. _Abort_ , his brain supplies.

“It’s okay, Eds, I get it. We don’t have to talk about it now.”

He feels Eddie’s arm against his, as Eddie draws in a deep breath and then puffs it out again slowly as he turns to look at him, looking small and unsure. When Eddie speaks his voice is barely audible.

“Buck, I think maybe I need to talk about it.”

Buck’s internal panic goes from small heart attack to full-on fucking catastrophic injuries. His brain is unhelpfully going a mile a minute telling him to get the fuck out of here now before it’s too late. This won’t end well, his traitorous brain supplies, digging into all of his insecurities and pulling them up to the surface. Eddie cares about you, but you’re too much, or not enough, just some fucking lucky dip prize no-one needs or wants. The flight reflex wins out, and he’s reaching out to pat Eddie’s thigh before Eddie can clarify that he needs to talk about it with Frank.

“Seeing as though you didn’t make it to the restaurant, I’ll heat some leftovers for you,” Buck offers, all but running out of the room without looking back.

Only Eddie follows him to the kitchen, of course, he does, he’s seen Buck like this before. Buck is all frenetic energy, moving around, getting cutlery, a plate, opening the appliances cupboard for God knows what reason, until Eddie pins him to the bench, hands either side of him, chest warm and solid against Buck’s back.

“Buck?”

Buck allows himself to lean some of his weight against Eddie, as a breath shudders its way out of him. They’ve had this little dance since day one, though now it’s become more ingrained in their lives outside of work. Even when it feels like the shit is hitting the fan, they have each other’s backs. Quite literally. 

Aware that Eddie isn’t going to let this go, he takes a leap of faith and lets out the truth. Hopes with desperation that karma is on his side.

“Eddie, we’re not ready to have that conversation.”

Eddie hums, “I know.”

“You know?” Buck squeaks, in a higher pitch than he’d like to admit.

“Yeah,” Eddie replies simply, like him knowing is not a mystery worthy of a Michael Connelly book. Buck spins around and looks at him. Really takes in the truths he can see written all over his face.

“It’s a conversation that I think I’ll want to have, in the not too distant future, though. “

Buck tilts his head, a grin stretching across his features. “Yeah?”

Eddie’s grin mirrors his. “Yes.”

Christopher’s Poem for Buck below.

<https://66.media.tumblr.com/34e176b65fce1d01182b23d1e71b83da/afa9a6db5b633101-29/s500x750/9879d907e26e451f4897eef3e08f90b250336bd3.jpg>

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Reading! X
> 
> I hope if we end up with Eddie going out on a date, that it's only to realise that no-one is going to stack up against Buck.
> 
> Thank you to my lovely beta Dee. xx


End file.
